Wednesday, December 14, 2011

'Twas the Night before Christmas

Greetings, all-

The New-York Historical Society has been closed for
remodeling for some time, and is now re-opening. They sent this video as part of
their re-opening and upcoming program announcements. It reminded me that we
(Moore descendants) have an intimate connection to this iconic poem, but perhaps
not everyone is aware of the connection. About 10 years ago while researching at
N-YHS, I found a letter written by Thomas William Channing Moore (1794-1872) son
of John Moore, Esq., son of Thomas Moore, son of Col. John & Frances
(Lambert) Moore. The letter was written to the librarian of the N-YHS, George H.
Moore (no relation!) in 1862. Transcript below. The other connection is by
marriage: TWC Moore's uncle, Rev. Thomas Lambert Moore was married to Judith
Moore, the aunt of Clement Clarke Moore, the author of the poem. The two Moore
families are not otherwise related. In recent years, some doubt has been raised
that C. C. Moore is truly the author of the poem, but there is absolutely no
doubt that Clement Clarke Moore penned the manuscript in the holdings of N-YHS,
at the urging of his kinsman, TWC Moore. Enjoy!

1 comment:

It would be wise to clarify that there is some doubt about the authorship of "A Visit From St. Nicholas". There is a compelling argument put forth by Don Foster in his book of literary mysteries, "Author Unknown", that Col. Henry Livingston is really the author of the poem. But whoever actually wrote it, the autograph copy that N-YHS holds was penned by Clement Clarke Moore in 1862 at the urging of his "cousin-by-marriage", Thomas William Channing Moore. TBO